Milan need four points to guarantee the Serie A title, but there was a time when the Scudetto had to be decided by a play-off involving Inter, Bologna and a tragic death.
The Serie A rules now separate teams based on head-to-head record, so if Milan and Inter do finish level at the top of the table, the title will go to the Rossoneri.
This is because they earned four points from their two matches in the Derby d’Italia this season.
However, before these rules were introduced, teams who finished together in the Serie A standings had to go into a play-off, whether it was for a place in Europe or to avoid relegation.
Only once did it involve the Scudetto itself, a dramatic encounter at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on June 7, 1964.
Bologna and Inter had finished level on 54 points and it was the Rossoblu who emerged 2-0 winners with goals in the final 15 minutes, as Giacinto Facchetti put into his own net and Harald Nielsen made sure of the victory.
Not only was it Bologna’s first Scudetto in 23 years, but also a very emotional occasion, because President Renato Dall’Ara had died of a heart attack just four days before the match.
He was taken ill during a meeting in Milan at the Lega Calcio headquarters to discuss arranging the play-off with Inter President Angelo Moratti.
The stadium in Bologna, until then known as the Comunale, was renamed the Stadio Dall’Ara in his honour in 1983.
It should only go to a playoff if level on points. Winning on goal difference or a better head to head is not winning in style.